Tiffany Taylor

ENG102

Paper 2

Joseph Fedorko

The Urbanization of Food

In the modern world, big cities in the United States are forced to thrive on imported

food from across the country due to the fact that there are few resources available for fresh

nutrition. Much research and experimenting has gone into the quest for a more urban food

system, and has had both good and bad results. Because cities are usually extremely populated

and booming with tall buildings, urban farming is often frowned upon or forgotten altogether.

Although it is more difficult to grow food in the city rather than growing it on farms, it is not

impossible. With the proper amount of time, money, and work ethic, it is possible for cities to

create urban gardens and sources of nutrition that will change the future of food forever.

Many people are quick to judge when it comes to the topic of urban agriculture, but

they do not realize that the urban lifestyle is slowly taking over as cities become more

populated. In her recent article "This is why we should be farming in skyscrapers", Barbara

Speed suggests that there are 2 critical questions we must ask when considering urban

agriculture, "First: as the proportion of the world living in cities nears 55 per cent, wouldn’t it be

more efficient to grow food close to these consumers, rather than shipping everything in from

rural areas? And second: as the world’s overall population increases, aren’t we going to run out

of flat space to farm?" As the population grows, the need for food increases, putting more

strain on the farmers across the globe who work tirelessly in order to produce as much as

possible while maintaining a healthy status. Many people believe that farming on flat land is the

only way to properly grow food, and they do not realize that by expanding farming into the city,

a plethora of advantages becomes available. Speed makes these advantages apparent by

saying, "Once you get past the idea that farming must take place on flat, outdoor land, a whole

range of other advantages become apparent. By using LED lighting and plants grown on stacked

shelves, or even stacked floors in a skyscraper, you can achieve year-round crop-growing.

There’s no danger from severe weather or pests, and therefore no need for pesticides. And you

have a new use for abandoned or blighted buildings." These innovative ideas prove that urban

agriculture is efficient and improves the food system in many ways.

Localization is critical when it comes to the freshness of food, and by making obstacles

for food to travel from farm to table, it poses dangers for the condition of the food and the

consumer. In the article "Urban Farming Is Growing a Green Future", Brian Clark Howard states

"More people around the world are taking a look at urban farming, which offers to make our

food as "local" as possible. By growing what we need near where we live, we decrease the

"food miles" associated with long-distance transportation. We also get the freshest produce

money can buy, and we are encouraged to eat in season." By localizing food, people are

creating an easier outlet for healthy eating in the city. More and more people are beginning to

move to cities that flourish with opportunities, which means food must travel faster and satisfy

more people than before. Cities are usually fast-paced and full of people who are on-the-go,

forcing them to resort to sources of food that can provide what they need at the same pace.

Though the food may be fast and easy to access, it is not always necessarily healthy or fresh.

Brian Clark Howard provides a great point by suggesting that we decrease the food miles and

start finding ways to grow food closer to home, regardless of where we live. In the same article,

Howard states "Rooftop and patio gardens create peaceful places for relaxation or

contemplation, and they can attract tourists—consider the booming businesses that have

sprung up around New York City's lush High Line Park. And urban farming can bring jobs to

underserved and depressed urban areas." The gardens he references in this quote are a breath

of fresh air to those who are constantly surrounded by skyscrapers and buildings. People in the

city are often interested in seeing a garden or two, since parks, trees, and grass only appear

every so often among the concrete jungle. By using urban farming techniques, gardens may

create many job and service opportunities for people, therefore improving lives altogether.

Time, money, and work ethic are all needed to achieve our goal of creating these gardens, it

can be a collaborative effort rather than putting the pressure on a single person. Urban

communities can come together to create a garden for their own benefit. In the quest for a

healthier community, cities can create space to grow these gardens, improve the quality of

food, and adapt to a lifestyle that does not rely on unhealthy foods.

With the decline of the food system, innovation is key to improvement. By creating

urban gardens, not only are many job opportunities created, but opportunities for nutritional

growth and development begin to appear. The food system has taken a few steps back in terms

of quality, and many people claim that it is broken. In the book Food in the City, Jennifer

Cockrall-King proves a point in the flawed food system by stating, "We need to understand how

we got to the point where our food system has become so unhealthy, so unfair, so

environmentally destructive, and has become a catastrophic failure" (Cockrall-King 19). She

calls to attention the faults of mankind, pointing out how we are the ones who determine

whether or not the food system improves and how we often choose to go in the wrong

direction. In the EarthTalk magazine article "Large-Scale Problem: Our Broken Global Food

System", Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss elaborate on how many flaws our food system contains

by stating, "Economic inequality among nations and other factors have contributed to a global

food system in which a billion people are hungry (lacking access to sufficient amounts of

macronutrients such as carbohydrates, fats and proteins), another billion suffer from “hidden

hunger” (lacking crucial vitamins and minerals from their diet), while yet another billion are

“substantially overconsuming,” spawning a new public health epidemic involving chronic

conditions such as Type 2 diabetes and widespread cardiovascular disease." Scheer and Moss

point out the defects in the system that need urgent attention and action. Food is flourishing in

certain parts of the world, but lacking in many other parts, which is strongly affected by the

locality of where food is grown. Certain farms across the US are infamous for pesticides,

herbicides, GMOs, and growth hormones. Grocery stores are a great example of the

combination between the good and bad parts of the food system. In Food in the City, Cockrall-

King mentions, "Within the grocery store, we have the illusion of choice. Forty thousand items

sounds like a lot of choice, but it's nothing compared to nature's inventory" (Cockrall-King 27).

With the creation of urban gardening, nature's inventory is accessible to those who are not

constantly surrounded by it.

By bringing a slice of nature into the urban jungle, the quality of nutrition in the city can

improve drastically. Urban farming may not be the easiest thing to do, but like any other

garden, can be done with the proper amount of time and care. The idea of farming in a big city

is often overlooked, but can save those who cannot access proper nutrition due to their busy

lifestyle.

Bibliography

Cockrall-King, Jennifer. Food in the City. New York: Prometheus, 2012. Print.

Johnson, Nathanael. "Urban Farms Won’t Feed Us, but They Just Might Teach Us." Grist. N.p., 29 Apr. 2014. Web. 5

Oct. 2015.

Speed, Barbara. "This Is Why We Should Be Farming in Skyscrapers." CityMetric. N.p., 26 May 2015.

Web. 14 Oct. 2015.

Scheer, Roddy, and Doug Moss. "Large-Scale Problem: Our Broken Global Food System." Scientific

American Global RSS. N.p., 30 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.